


Eternity With the Auto Memories Doll

by Fopdoodle



Series: Eternity with the Auto Memories Doll [1]
Category: Violet Evergarden (Anime)
Genre: Anime, Cottagecore, Dark Academia, F/F, Lesbians, Light Academia, netflix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fopdoodle/pseuds/Fopdoodle
Summary: What if, when Violet had to leave, Isabella York left too? What if, Violet hadn’t turned down Isabella’s offer to run away?Not canon-compliant.
Relationships: Amy Bartlett | Isabella York/Violet Evergarden
Series: Eternity with the Auto Memories Doll [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031157
Comments: 23
Kudos: 81





	1. Anywhere Else

Two girls in light brown uniforms ran through the courtyard hand in hand. The first half of the lecture was almost over, and missing it entirely would result in an extra demerit. 

Isabella lagged behind, staring up at the sun that shone through the leaves. Over a hundred trees blocked her view of the outside world. But the canopy blocked even a glimpse of that from her.

“Let’s forget about school and go somewhere else!”

Violet didn’t stop but turned her head slightly. “Where exactly do you want to go?”

“Anywhere else, just the two of us.”

Violet’s pace slowed, her soft hair no longer bouncing intensely. “Don’t you want to continue your education?”

Before Isabella could tell the truth, she remembered Taylor. Her smiling face, pigtails flying behind her as she ran through the snow. 

“I-”

Violet’s metallic hand tightened on her hand as she started pulling Isabella forward. “We must continue. You are already very late!”

_ I will tell her later. _ Isabella mused.  _ Perhaps, Amy can be happy with the Doll. _

~~~

The debutante ball had ended, and Isabella had been redressed in her nightclothes. Now, Violet stood near the door in her Doll’s uniform again, looking at her friend.

“It seems you are largely finished with your education,” Violet said. She picked up the suitcase that held her typewriter. “Which means, I am no longer your tutor.”

Isabella squeezed the bedsheets with her hand as her eyes fell. “What will you do now?”

Violet stood still, unemotive. “I will return to CH Postal Company in Leiden and resume my duties there until I am hired to be elsewhere.”

“So, our duties pull us away?” Isabella asked.

“Yes.”

“Forever?”

“Indefinitely.”

Isabella stood up, “I don’t want to be tied down by my duty.” She came closer to Violet and reached for her hand. Even though she couldn’t feel it, Violet returned the grasp, gently placing her suitcase on the floor. 

“Are you suggesting something?” 

“Yes. We run away together!”

Violet clamped her hand over Isabella’s mouth, holding up one gloved finger to her lips. A creaking passed by the door, unpaused in its steps. 

“While rigorous and inclusive, your educational path has not been conducive to pursuing a career,” Violet whispered as she picked up her suitcase. “And my salary as a Doll would not be enough to cover living costs for us both should your father refuse to assist.”

Isabella stepped back, looking feverishly around her room. “I have some jewelry I could sell. It wouldn’t be much, but it might help?”

Violet shook her head. “It would only draw attention. Do you think you could possibly convince your father that a trip to Leiden would benefit your health? He would have a much harder time tracking anything you did there.”

It was Isabella’s turn to shake her head. “He only cares if I benefit him with a marriage.”

Violet turned her back to Isabella, facing the door. “Then you cannot come with me, yet.”

“Yet?”

“Correct.”

It was then that the story of how Amy Bartlett, an orphan pauper, became Isabella York and left her sister Taylor behind. Then, although they both lived, how they were forbidden from seeing each other. Although she had been uncertain before, and although it didn’t as much as flicker across her face, Violet knew she had to do more.

When she left Isabella behind, Violet understood her mission, even if she was unsure how to accomplish it. Her services were needed and requested, and as an honorable Doll, she must fulfill them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to write as much of this before school starts, but if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them for edits!


	2. The Doll's Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet plans how best to help Isabella to escape the boarding school.

“I know you don’t always eat, but would you like to join us for lunch?”

Violet shook her head as she closed her typewriter. “No, thank you for the invitation.”

Iris frowned as she folded her arms. “You haven’t joined us since you came back, we’ve hardly had a chance to catch up!”

“I have a personal project to attend to,” Violet said as she walked to the stairs of CH Postal Company. “I will catch up with you another time.”

There wasn’t much that Violet wanted to share yet, if ever. This mission relied on secrecy until it was complete. Without confidentiality, it could fail horribly. 

A map lay on the floor of her room with different typewriter pieces as building and members of staff. She knelt on her hands and knees and started moving the parts around, trying to understand every variable.  _ How would Major Gilbert or Cornel Hodgins plan an attack? _ She thought as she pulled the pencil from her mouth.

“Violet, you have a package?” 

She sat up just as Benedict opened the door to her room with a small box under one arm. He paused, his fingers losing their hold on the package. Violet dove under him and grabbed the package before it could fall to the ground. 

“Please leave,” she said as she stood up. 

Her hand pressed against the door, pushing it against Benedict’s foot.

“What’s going on here, Violet?” he asked as he tried to push against her.

“It is none of your concern. Please leave!” she said as she kicked him away from the door and shut it. 

“I’ll tell Claudia you’re doing something strange up here.”

Violet leaned against the door. “I will not ask again. Please leave me alone.”

The click of his heels faded away. Violet gathered the pieces and put them in the box of parts she kept. The map, under her pillow. Even if President Hodgins came in, he would likely only do a cursory sweep of the room. 

“Violet, is everything alright in there?”

She straightened her hair and dress. “Yes, President Hodgins?”

“Benedict seemed to think you were acting strange.”

Violet opened the door wide. “Strange?”

President Hodgins sighed as he looked back at Benedict. “See, I told you nothing was going on.”

“You really believe her?” 

“Have I given either of you a reason to distrust me?” Violet asked, tilting her head. 

Benedict pushed in front of President Hodgins. “You had a map and figures out all over your floor!”

President Hodgins frowned and pulled Benedict away. “I’m sorry, Violet, he and I will have to talk about boundaries.”

“Thank you, President Hodgins,” Violet said as she bowed.

When she closed the door, she leaned her ear against it so that she could hear them walk away.

“How can you watch her reaction and tell me that nothing’s off?”

“I can’t. But we can’t push Violet to tell us anything before she’d ready. Erica and Iris have already told me they think something is wrong with Violet.”

Violet looked down at the package on the ground, from the boarding school. Likely a “forgotten” trinket or two.

“Aren’t you concerned why she would want a model of something?”

Violet tried to listen as they went further away, but couldn’t understand President Hodgin’s response. He was probably downstairs already. She stepped away from the door and picked up the package. A letter floated off the top, a small note from Isabella. 

_ “Because one of the maids fired for stealing, I was able to tell Mr. York that some objects of value had been taken. Please do what you see fit.” _

It was a lie, but a lie that Violet was willing to learn to live with for Isabella. 

She dropped the note to the floor as she walked to her desk. When the box was on the counter, she turned around and looked at the letter. Kneeling, she picked it up in her metallic hands. 

_ If she were to be kidnapped, Isabella would not be held in low standards by her father. It would mean Taylor would be alright for a while longer while we figured things out too. _

She pocketed the note. Now all that was left was to stop living at the CH Postal Company and inform Isabella of the plot.

~~~

Claudia sat at his desk, staring past the girl in front of him. There was a feeling in his throat when he saw her like this, blanker than usual. It reminded him of the past.

“I’m not sure living away from the company is a good idea, Violet,” he said at last as he folded his hands in front of his face.

“You would be able to increase my salary if I no longer lived here,” Violet said, her hands resting at her sides. “And it would increase my independence greatly to adventure out into Leiden.”

Claudia rested his hands on the desk. “You’re still young; it would be inappropriate for me to allow that without Mrs. Evergarden’s permission. She is still your guardian, after all.”

He watched her hands to see if they clenched, but they did not. 

“Then I will ask her for permission,” Violet said as she bowed. 

Claudia fingered an order on his desk. “Violet?”

She turned. “Yes, President Hodgins?”

“I have an order from Drossel, I know you just got back, but would you mind taking it?”

She bowed again. “I will travel anywhere to meet your request.” 

Every time, no matter how benign the job, she would say that phrase. But this time, there was a twitch at the corner of her lips that gave away what Claudia feared. Violet Evergarden, was quite possibly, in love.

“President Hodgins, is everything alright?” 

He lifted his head and smiled. “Of course.”

“When should I depart?” she asked as she reached to take the order form.

“Tomorrow, I’ll give you the form then,” Claudia said as he slipped the blank form under the desk. “That will give you time to speak with Mrs. Evergarden over tea if she’ll have you.”

Violet bowed again. “Of course. I will be off tomorrow.”

Claudia could barely hold in a sigh long enough for the door to close. His head dropped as he tried to think of what he would tell Violet in the morning. 

“She’s not ready for anything like this.”


	3. A Bird of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet helps Isabella escape boarding school.

"Benedict, how do you drive a car?" 

Benedict groaned as he swung his legs over his motorbike. Violet stood next to him, her suitcase dangling in front of her.

"You press down the petals underneath the car and shift it into gear to make it go."

"Press down the petals, shift into gear, go." She bowed. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Whatever."

As Benedict started revving the motor, he saw Violet open the door on the driver's side of Hodgin's car.

"Wait! **_Violet_ **!" he shouted.

Violet stopped and looked at him. "Yes?"

Benedict slammed his motorbike on the ground, letters scattering. "It's way more complicated than that!"

Violet's face fell. "Oh, then why did you simplify it?"

"I thought you were generally asking!"

She stepped away from the car. "I thought I was clear that I wanted to know how to drive."

"What are you doing?"

She looked at the car. "A friend of mine needs assistance, and I promised to give it to her."

Benedict closed the car door and sighed. "Really? Is that what's going on here?"

"Yes."

"And this doesn't have anything to do with the war map you had in your room?" he snapped.

"No, it has everything to do with it," Violet said. "I was hoping to strategize how best to assist her."

Benedict rubbed his forehead. "And you need a car."

"Yes."

"But you can't drive."

"I cannot."

He went to his bike and righted it. "Do you need anything else?"

"Dark male clothing, face coverings, and female clothes that are not mine," Violet said as she picked up some of the scattered letters and handed them to him.

Benedict took the letters from the metallic hands. "Alright, I'm in."

~~~

The car only offered a second prison instead of a chance at freedom. Mr. York had said that she was to no longer correspond with anyone from the school. For Taylor's sake, Isabella severed her connection to Violet Evergarden. The Doll who understood.

She stared out the window as dark foliage flew by. The world was asleep, and would never know where she'd gone.

A figure stood stock still in the road, the driver slowed down but was unable to avoid running it down. On impact, the figure burst into pieces, rolling over the hood of the car.

"Violet?" 

The driver pulled over and ran out into the road towards the figure. In his panicked search for signs of life, he left the door open.

From the side of the road, two figures ran up. One opened the door next to Isabella as the driver's door closed. Isabella grabbed her suitcase, prepared to defend herself. But a familiar clink eased her worries as the figure next to her raised a finger to their lips.

"It is alright; we are here to rescue you."

Isabella moved over, allowing Violet to sit next to her. She was wearing pants, like a man, and had all of her face covered except her eyes. The eyes that had usually only seemed unmoved or curious now almost lit up with excitement as the car sped away.

"Where are we going?" Isabella asked.

"To Leiden. But first, we must make you harder to recognize. It is a long journey, and the authorities will be looking for you, possibly before we make it to the train."

"How?"

"I will dress you to look like a Doll, and Benedict will escort you," Violet explained as she ungloved her hands. "May I style your hair?"

"Of course."

Violet began working quickly, allowing Isabella a chance to speak freely about all the goings-on. 

"As a Doll, you will need to stand out, but as you are running away, you need to blend in. Benedict and I picked an outfit from various pieces of our clothing that should do the job well." Violet explained as she laid out a pair of heels and a simple green skirt. "If you require assistance to dress, I am happy to offer it."

By the time they neared the train station Isabella was dressed as only a Doll could be. Her hair pulled back, and sleeves pulled away from the wrists. They abandoned the car a mile away and started walking. Every so often, Isabella would look over her shoulder to see if they were being followed but could find no evidence.

"Without transportation, it is unlikely that the driver was able to reach the police, but it is best to avoid notice anyways," Violet said as she started to walk towards the bushes. "I will see you again in Leiden."

"Wait!" Isabella said, breaking away from Benedict's arm. 

Her hands grabbed onto the Doll's shirt and planted her lips firmly on Violet's. When she pulled away, she realized that Violet had not kissed back.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked away.

"For what?" Violet asked, tilting her head slightly. "I quite enjoyed that."

Isabella's heart fluttered as Violet, in an awkward motion, grabbed her back and repaid the kiss firmly on her lips. They were soft but firm, like her. As she let go, Violet smiled. 

"It is what friends do, after all," she said as she disappeared into the woods without a trace.

Isabella's heart was dragged back down as she returned to Benedict, who took her arm.

"Violet doesn't necessarily get the full breadth of emotion," he said as they walked to the train station. 

Isabella looked away. "I thought she understood me," she said.

"You need to tell her that you aren't trying to be friends," he continued. "Don't string her along into something she doesn't get."

~~~

Violet sat on the edge of the moving train, staring up at the stars. She felt a smile naturally flicker on her face. “Major Gilbert would be proud of me,” she thought as she touched the pendant lightly. 

Now there was only the issue of hiding Isabella until she could find a way to bring Taylor to Leiden. Maybe Mrs. Evergarden might want to take in another orphan? She couldn’t see President Hodgins doing such a thing, or anyone else at CH Postal Company. Yes, Mrs. Evergarden could be convinced.

“Hopefully we are still  friends after how long we’ve been apart,” she said aloud to the night sky.


	4. A Small Room in Leiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the trio arrive in Leiden, Isabella has to explain to Violet that in her mind, they aren't simply friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've promised 5 chapters, but I am considering adding a few more. But this semester is going to be heavy on the writing for me, so I'm not sure if I should just end the story in a satisfactory way or keep going. Please let me know your thoughts.

Isabella reluctantly walked up the steps to the room that Violet had rented. She was tired and afraid. Benedict had convinced her that it was imperative that she tell Violet her true feelings as soon as she arrived, but she didn’t want to lose her.

She knocked gently on the door. 

“Just a moment!” the Doll’s voice called as there was a good deal of movement behind the door. The clicking of her automail joints brought back memories that Isabella wanted to fall back into.

The door opened. Dressed prim and proper, was Violet Evergarden. 

“Welcome to your new home Miss Isabella York,” she said with a bow as she opened the door fully.

The room was plain, with one bed and a desk under the window. Scattered throughout were dozens of flowers. Some wild, some domesticated. Isabella entered and placed her bag on the bed.

“It’s beautiful,” she said as she looked around.

“That was my intention,” Violet said as she looked around as well. 

Isabella felt a plunge in her throat. “Violet?”

“Yes?”

She sat on the bed next to her bag, staring at the floor. “I don’t think we have the same idea about this,” she said.

“How so?” Violet asked as she sat next to her. 

“I told you that we were doing things that friends do, but I lied,” she couldn’t look at Violet as she spoke, Violet’s constant unmoving demeanor was felt. “It’s more akin to what a pair of lovers would do.”

Violet’s arm moved slightly. “Do you not feel that way?”

Isabella looked up at her. “What?”

“Do you not feel like a pair of lovers?”

Isabella’s heart jumped. “You knew?”

Violet looked ahead. “Not when you first started saying friends, but it became easier when Erica sent me a book about two women who called each other friends when they were really in love.”

“Benedict thought you didn’t understand,” she said as she looked straight ahead. 

Violet’s face twitched. “I do not rely on Benedict for emotional advice. So I would not rely on him to accurately describe how I feel.”

Isabella put her hand on Violet’s cold automail hand. “So we feel the same way?”

“I believe so. We are-” he lifted her hands and made quotation marks with her fingers. “‘friends’”

Isabella smiled and leaned forward. Violet's arms clinked as she took Isabella closer, their lips coming together in a smooth motion. The beginning of a wonderful "friendship."


	5. The Storybook Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet reunites Amy with Taylor.

Violet and Amy walked the streets of Leiden arm in arm. The warm sun and sea breeze helped Amy breathe without coughing. No one paid attention to the Doll and her friend as they turned to the Evergarden household. They all had their own things to do.

“I have a surprise for you,” Violet said as she pulled Amy into the yard. The clicks of her automail and soft footfall reminded Amy of running to classes. But now, the sky was visible, and Amy was free.

Their hands slipped apart as Violet knocked on the door. The middle-aged woman who answered it said her hellos and called up the stairs

“Taylor!”

Amy looked up the stairs and saw a little redhead come tumbling down, two letters clenched in her small hands.

“Sister!”

The End


End file.
